When Was Golf Invented? | Golfsmith When Was Golf Invented? Golf's early history can be traced to Scotland. David Cannon/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images More Articles How Did Ken Venturi Practice? The game of golf most likely began when a few hardy Scottish souls used a stick to propel a round rock toward a predetermined target. The exact details have been lost in the mists of time. Between the 1500s and 1600s, the game became more formalized. Everyone played, from the peasants to the elite. However, not everyone favored the game. King James II of Scotland thought the youth of his era should be more focused on worthy pursuits, such as going to war, rather than honing their golf skills. In 1636, David Wedderburn included the Latin word for "club" in his Vocabula, a listing of terms related to golf. Also included was a term for "golf hole," a critical element for defining the modern day game of golf. Precursors to Golf While Scotland is credited with being the birthplace of golf, similar games were played much earlier.

According to GolfNow.com, feather-stuffed balls were hit with branches as early as the time of Julius Caesar. The Dutch played a golf game of sorts on their frozen canals, as documented by book illustrations as early as the 1400s. The game was more like ice hockey and was played with sticks and a ball . It was called kolven. Kolven became kolf, and then gawf in Britain. However, according to the Scottish Golf History website, there is not a " universally accepted derivation for the word golf." The French and Belgians played a cross-country version of the game with a ball and a stick. Early Play By the 1500s, a game similar to modern-day golf was played on the coasts of Scotland. Both men and women participated. In fact, Mary Queen of Scots was chided for playing the day after her husband was murdered. Rules varied, but by 1744 a set of 13 rules had been established and accepted. That's a far cry from today's rule book, which is hundreds of pages. In 1764, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews established that the game should consist of 18 holes.

At the time, that course consisted of 12 holes. Ten of the holes were played once and an additional eight holes were played again for a total of 18. Equipment Early golf clubs are difficult to date accurately. By comparing the techniques used to make bows, Troon clubs are believed to date from the early 17th century or late 16th century. The golf ball, which was made of carved wood in the 1500s, segued into the featherie in 1618. The featherie was a leather pouch stuffed with wet feathers. When the feathers dried the ball became firmer and round. This innovation took the game of golf out of the common man's reach because featheries were expensive and didn’t last long. When forged metal clubheads became available, many golfers stuck with wood clubs because they did less damage to the featheries. The gutta percha ball gave the game back to the masses 200 years later. Gutta percha balls were made of rubber, were much less expensive to produce because they could be poured into molds and lasted longer than featheries.

Clubs, Courses and Competition The distinction of being the earliest golf course is credited to the old links of Musselburgh in Scotland. Scotland's Prestwick Golf Club played host to the first Open Championship in 1860. By the mid-19th century there were still only 17 golf courses in the world, 14 of them in Scotland. HOT PRODUCTS ON Golfsmith.com Where & When Was Golf Invented? | GolfLink.com Where & When Was Golf Invented? Where & When Was Golf Invented? SHARES By James Roland Games played with sticks or clubs and rocks or balls date centuries, but the earliest known stick games involved with knocking a ball (or at least a small rock) into a hole date to Scotland early in the 15th century. Kingdom of Fife The actual origins of golf can be traced to a region in eastern Scotland known as the Kingdom of Fife in the early 1400s. The ball was a pebble, and players used existing dunes and rugged terrain as their courses.

Handcrafted clubs and balls followed, and by the middle of the 15th century, golf was so popular in Scotland, King James II had to outlaw the sport to get the men of Scotland ready for an impending battle with England. Golf's Popularity Spreads In the 16th century, golf's popularity spread in England thanks to the support of King Charles I. Mary Queen of Scots helped spread the popularity in France during her studies there. In Belgium, where a similar game had been played for centuries, golf also exploded in popularity. Gentlemen of Leith Golf would soon become a more organized activity. In 1744, the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, an area in the northern section of Edinburgh, formed the first golf club to promote an annual competition. St. Andrews St. Andrews, often incorrectly credited as being the birthplace of golf, became in many ways a symbolic home for golf beginning in 1552. After Leith's rules, St. Andrews formed its own rules and a tournament to crown it champion Significance The first golf club to form outside of Scotland was the Royal Blackheath in London in 1766.

By the 21st century, there would be an estimated 60 million golfers worldwide and the sport would be played on every continent except Antarctica. About The Author James Roland is the editor of a monthly health publication that has approximately 75,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada. Previously, he worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, covering issues ranging from the environment and government to family matters and education. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. Video of the Day History of Golf And Golf Equipment Arnold Media/ Taxi/ Getty Images Updated October 20, 2015. Golf originated from a game played on the coast of Scotland during the 15th century. Golfers would hit a pebble instead of a ball around the sand dunes using a stick or club. After 1750, golf evolved into the sport as we recognize it today. In 1774, Edinburgh golfers wrote the first standardized rules for the game of golf. Golf Balls Golfers soon tired of hitting pebbles and tried other things. The earliest man-made golf balls included thin leather bags stuffed with feathers (they did not fly very far).

The gutta-percha ball was invented in 1848 by Reverend Adam Paterson. Made from the sap of the Gutta tree, this ball could be hit a maximum distance of 225 yards and was very similar to its modern counterpart. In 1898, Coburn Haskell introduced the first one-piece rubber cored, when professionally hit these balls reached distances approaching 430 yards. According to "The Dimpled Golf Ball" by Vincent Mallette during the early days of golf the balls were smooth. continue reading below our video 5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Players noticed that as balls became old and scarred, they traveled farther. After a while players would take new balls and intentionally pit them. In 1905, golf ball manufacturer William Taylor was the first to add the dimple pattern using the Coburn Haskell ball. Golf balls had now taken on their modern form. Golf Clubs Golf clubs have evolved from wooden shaft clubs to today's sets of woods and irons with durability, weight distribution and graduation utility. The evolution of clubs went hand in hand with the evolution of golf balls that were able to withstand harder whacks.

Carrying & Caddies During the 1880s, golf bags first came into use. "The beast of burden" is an old nickname for the caddie who carried golfers' equipment for them. The first powered golf car appeared around 1962 and was invented by Merlin L. Halvorson. Golf Tees The word "tee" as it relates to the game of golf originated as the name for the area where a golfer played. In 1889, the first documented portable golf tee was patented by Scottish golfers William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. This golf tee was made from rubber and had three vertical rubber prongs that held the ball in place. However, it lay on the ground and did not piece (or pegged) the ground like modern golf tees. In 1892, a British patent was granted to Percy Ellis for his "Perfectum" tee that did piece (pegged) the ground. It was a rubber tee with a metal spike. The 1897 "Victor" tee was similar and included a cup-shaped top to better hold the golf ball. The Vicktor was patented by Scotsmen PM Matthews.

American patents for golf tees include: the first American patent issued to Scotsmen David Dalziel in 1895, the 1895 patent issued to American Prosper Senat, and the 1899 patent for an improved golf tee issued to George Grant . Origins of Golf: When and Where Did Golf Begin? When and Where Did Golf Begin? When and Where Did Golf Begin? Golf History FAQ: The origins of golf A lithograph showing Scottish golfers on the links at Edinburgh, circa 1750. Spencer Arnold/Getty Images Everyone knows golf originated in Scotland, right? Welllllllll ... yes and no. It's definitely true that golf as we know it emerged in Scotland. The Scots were playing golf in its very basic form - take a club, swing it at a ball, move ball from starting point to finishing point in as few strokes as possible - by at least the mid-15th Century. In fact, the earliest known reference to golf by that name comes from King James II of Scotland, who, in 1457, issued a ban on the playing of golf and football (soccer).

Those games, the king complained, were keeping his archers from their practice. James III in 1471 and James IV in 1491 each re-issued the ban on golf. Golf Developed in Scotland ... But Where Did It Originate? But the game continued to develop in Scotland over the decades and centuries, until 1744 when the first-known rules of golf were put down in writing in Edinburgh. Golf as it was then played would be easily recognized by any modern golfer. continue reading below our video How to Throw a Perfect Spiral in Football But can it be said that the Scots "invented" golf? Not quite, because there's strong evidence that the Scots were influenced themselves by even earlier versions of games that were similar in nature. Here's what the USGA Museum says about the issue: "While many Scots firmly maintain that golf evolved from a family of stick-and-ball games widely practiced throughout the British Isles during the Middle Ages, considerable evidence suggests that the game derived from stick-and-ball games that were played in France, Germany and the Low Countries." The Dutch Influence Part of that evidence is the etymology of the word "golf" itself.

"Golf" derives from the Old Scots terms "golve" or "goff," which themselves evolved from the medieval Dutch term "kolf." The medieval Dutch term "kolf" meant "club," and the Dutch were playing games (mostly on ice) at least by the 14th Century in which balls were struck by sticks that were curved at the bottom until they were moved from Point A to Point B. The Dutch and Scots were trading partners, and the fact that the word "golf" evolved after being transported by the Dutch to the Scots lends credence to the idea that the game itself may have been adapted by the Scots from the earlier Dutch game. Something else that lends credence to that idea: Although the Scots played their game on parkland (rather than ice), they (or least some of them) were using wooden balls they acquired in trade from ... Holland. Similar Games Go Back Even Earlier And the Dutch game wasn't the only similar game of the Middle Ages (and earlier). Going back even farther, the Romans brought their own stick-and-ball game into the British Isles, and games that contain antecedents of golf were popular in France and Belgium long before Scotland got into the game.

So does that mean that the Dutch (or someone else other than the Scots) invented golf? No, it means that golf grew out of multiple, similar stick-and-ball games that were played in different parts of Europe. But we're not trying to deny the Scots their place in golf history. The Scots made a singular improvement to all the games that came before: They dug a hole in the ground, and made getting the ball into that hole the object of the game. As we said at the beginning, for golf as we know it, we definitely have the Scots to thank. The History Of Golf. Where And How Golf Started. The Roots and History of Golf The Origins of the Game of Kings Golf is one sport that has lasted for many, many years. From players during the reign of Caesar in golf’s earliest stages to players like Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy of today. Golf has endured the test of time and has come through as an important sport in each part of the globe. Golf dates back to the time of Julius Caesar. Although it was not the golf that is played today, it was a similar game. They played by striking a feather-stuffed ball with club-shaped tree branches.

Golf was also traced back to the Song Dynasty in China during the years 960 to 1279. The games of these times were not exactly the golf that is known today; the roots of today’s game can be traced back to Scotland in 1457. The game was then outlawed by King James II of Scotland, as it detracted from the training for the military. Golf became a pastime in Great Britain in the seventeenth century, and that was a familiar theme throughout the world. In 1860, the first British Open, a tournament that is still played today, had taken place. The popularity of the sport then began to spread throughout the entire world. The first permanent golf club in North America was founded in Montreal, Canada, in 1873 and was named “Canada’s Royal Montreal Club.” The US caught wind of this and decided to embrace the golf craze as well. The first 18-hole course in the United States was in The Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, in 1893. The governing body of golf began as the United States Golf Association (USGA) in the year 1894.

Then the current governing body of today, the Professional Golf Association of America, was founded in 1916. Both amateurs and professionals are allowed to play in open events like the US Open and the British Open, which are “open” to the public. However, there are certain events that amateurs are not allowed to play in, like the world golf championships—the Accenture Match Play Championship or the Arnold Palmer Invitational. These events are examples of professional events only. Beginning in 1981, the name of the pro circuit was officially changed to the Tournament Players Association (TPA) Tour. The name was changed again to its current name of the Professional Golfers Association or the PGA tour. Tournament golf had become a well-established spectator sport in the United States by the 1920s and has been gaining popularity ever since. Golf is known around the globe and has gained popularity, as it is becoming more televised and marketed. Golf seems to be a sport that will go on to live forever. History of The Game Of Golf Including it's origins 'Francis Ouimet and the 1913 U.S. Open:' 'The 1913 U.S.

Open Championship was played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, one of the earliest American golf courses. Harry Vardon had come back to the U.S. again and entered the Open, expected by many to win. His primary competition was expected to come from friend and fellow Brit Ted Ray. No one saw Francis Ouimet coming.' 'Ouimet was a 20-year-old amateur and former caddy from Brookline when he entered the U.S. Open in 1913. Tied with the two British stars after the first three rounds of the tournament, Ouimet managed two birdies in his final six holes to finish tied for the lead at the end of the four rounds. A playoff was required, and Ouimet, much to the shock and delight of the crowd, ended the playoff round with a one-over-par 72, beating out Vardon and Ray. Ouimet's victory became national news, catapulting golf into even greater popularity. Ouimet would go on to win two Amateur Championships and a French Amateur Championship. He would also appear on the American team in the newly-created Walker Cup in 1922, a tournament between American and British teams played every other year.

Ouimet would play on every Walker Cup team from 1922 to 1949, captaining the squad between 1936 and 1949. In 1951, he was named captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland, the first non-British person awarded that high honor.' 'The Amateur Game:' 'Both in Britain and the U.S., amateur golf was as highly regarded and popular in the 1800s and into the 1900s as professional golf. The Amateur Championships of Britain and America were extremely well attended and well thought-of events. In Britain, early amateur domination came in the form of John Ball, who won the British Amateur Championship eight times, three more than any other player has ever won. Interestingly, Ball never won twice in a row - all his victories came at least a year apart from each other. Ball also became the first to win both an Amateur and Open Championship, one of only three in history who have done so. Harold Hilton, another top amateur of the time, was the first to win both championships, winning two Opens and four Amateurs.

He also became the first British player to win both the British and U.S. Amateur Championships.' 'In the U.S., the first amateur star was Walter Travis. The Australian who had moved to the U.S. as a child first won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1900 and would collect two more titles. Only three other players have ever won three or more U.S. Amateur Championships. He also became the first American player to win the British Amateur Open, capturing the 1904 title. Following Travis's success was Jerome Travers, who between 1907 and 1913 won four titles. Travers would also become one of the first Amateur winners to also win a U.S. Open.' 'The greatest amateur of the first half of the 1900s, however (and one of the greatest of all-time) was Bobby Jones. Of the seven U.S. Amateur Championships between 1924 and 1930, Jones won five of them; those five victories are also the most all-time in Amateur Championship history. His greatest feat, another unmatched in history, came in 1930.

In that single year, Bobby Jones won the U.S. Open, the British Open, the U.S. Amateur Championship and the British Amateur Championship. That accomplishment was dubbed the "Grand Slam." No other player has ever completed a single-season Grand Slam, though five others have completed a career Grand Slam, winning all four majors in their career.' 'The Professional Game:' 'In 1916, as professional golf gained more ground in the U.S., players wanted an organizational body to govern the game: U.S. amateurs had the USGA and British players had the R&A (taking its name from the Royal and Ancient Club), so they wanted one of their own. That January , the Professional Golfer's Association of America was born. Seven months later, they established the first PGA Championship, played at a course in Bronxville, New York, with $2,500 awarded to the winner (equal to $50,000 today). ' 'The earliest PGA star was undoubtedly Walter Hagen. While Bobby Jones dominated the amateur game in America, Hagen controlled the pro game. In his career, Hagen won 11 professional titles: the U.S.

Open twice, the British Open four times and the PGA Championship five times. His five PGA Championship titles are the most all-time, along with Jack Nicklaus' five wins. Four of those victories came in a row, from 1924-27. No other golfer has ever won more than two in a row. Over his career, Hagen earned about $1 million in prize money, by far the most at the time (and equal to about $12.5 million today).' 'The Game Changes:' 'Bobby Jones' retirement in 1930 marked the beginning of a new era in golf. Steel-shafted golf clubs became the standard, and with the improved equipment, scores began lowering: shooting par generally wasn't good enough anymore. Crossover between the amateur and pro games began to end as well. After Jones' 1930 Open victory, only one other player (Johnny Goodman in 1933) won the U.S. Open as an amateur.

Amateur success in pro tournaments (or lack thereof) was attributed to the much higher amounts of money coming into the game after 1930; as soon as an amateur player could compete on the pro level, they made the jump to professional. ' 'The PGA Tour, which had been established in 1916 along with the PGA, began recognizing the money winner of each year's tour in 1934. That first season, Paul Runyan was the highest money winner, tallying seven wins and just over $6700 (equal to $107,000 today). That same season, the pro tour earned a profit of $135,000 ($2.16 million today). By 1949, under the leadership of Boston promoter Fred Corcoran, the tour earned a profit of $600 thousand, and raised that total to over $2 million in the '60s (today, those totals are equal to $5.4 million and $14.5 million, respectively).' 'The 1930s also saw the creation of a new tournament, the Masters (originally named the Augusta National Invitation Tournament).

The first tourney was held in 1934, with Horton Smith its winner, and quickly became one of the premier golf events on the PGA Tour schedule. The creation of the Masters Tournament also ushered in the era of the modern majors. Originally, the majors (the four major golf tournaments of the year) were the British and U.S. Opens and Amateur Championships. With the rise of professional golf, the majors eventually became the U.S. and British Opens, the PGA Championship and the Masters.' 'The 1930s in golf, however, failed to produce a single dominant figure. While there were certainly star players, no one controlled the game like the figures before. From 1934 to 1939, no player won the money leader title more than once. It wasn't until 1940 and Ben Hogan that golf once again had a titan. Hogan, a Texan, won the money title five times in his career. He tallied four U.S. Open titles, won the Masters twice, the PGA Championship twice and won a single British Open, becoming only the second player (after Gene Sarazen) to win the career Grand Slam in the Masters era.

He also won the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in the same year, 1953, considered one of the greatest achievements in golf history.' 'Following World War II, another golfer hit the scene, challenging Hogan's dominance: Byron Nelson. Nelson became the first golfer on the PGA Tour to win more than 10 events in a single year, winning an astonishing 18 events in 1945 (an unmatched feat in history). He also became the first player to top $50,000 in winnings in a single year, earning over $63,000 in '45 (worth $751 thousand today). ' 'One golfer of the era not remembered for singular dominance by rather for consistency was Sam Snead. Playing across four decades on the PGA Tour, Snead won three money titles, three PGA Championships, three Masters and a British Open, never able to capture a U.S. Open titles (though he was a runner-up five times, including losing a playoff in 1947). Snead's claim to fame, however, is his PGA Tour win total.

Between his first victory on the Tour in 1936 and his last in 1965, Sam Snead won 82 Tour events, the most all-time. ' 'Women's Golf:' 'Evidence from the history of golf says that women have been involved and interested in the game almost since its inception. The Royal and Ancient Club was founded in 1754 - within 60 years, women were on record as being active on the course. Within another sixty years, they had formed a club as well, the Ladies Golf Club of St. Andrews in 1867. In 1893, the Ladies Golf Union was formed, the governing body for women's golf in the U.K. and Ireland. In the U.S., women came to golf just about as early as men; just one year after John Reid set up the first golf course, he and his wife played another couple in mixed doubles, the first recorded mixed doubles match in the U.S. ' 'As in men's golf, early domination of the sport belonged to Great Britain. However, by about the 1920s, American women had developed a greater affinity for the game.

In 1932, The USGA and the Ladies Golf Union established the Curtis Cup Match, a competition between American and British teams held every two years. The first was held in England, with the Americans winning. Much like its male counterpart, the Walker Cup, early domination in the Curtis Cup belonged to the U.S.' 'Babe:' 'Though women's golf has never achieved the same level of popularity as men's golf, it certainly has had its stars. Its first (and perhaps biggest) was Mildred Didrikson Zaharias, better known as Babe. Zaharias, widely considered perhaps the greatest female athlete of all time, did not excel solely in golf. As an 18-year-old, she entered a national track and field event in Illinois and won the team title - as the only member of her team. She entered eight of the 10 events, winning six of them (and placing 2nd and 4th in the other two) and set three world records. She went on to win two gold medals at the 1932 Olympics, and was disqualified from winning a third for diving over the bar in the high jump (something that had never been done before, and was later legalized).

With her popularity skyrocketing, she went on a tour of the country, first as a vaudeville performer, later playing baseball, football, basketball, trying out skiing, boxing and fly-casting.' 'Though she started playing golf shortly after the Olympics, she decided to get serious about the game a few years later. It was during this period that she was paired with a professional wrestler at a tournament in 1938, George Zaharias. The two made an immediate connection and were married shortly afterward. However, as much as Babe's private life was enjoying success, her professional life was not - women's pro golf was not yet established, and the only two major tournaments were for amateurs (the National Women's Amateur Championship and the British Ladies' Championship). As a result, Zaharias applied for amateur status and, in 1944, the USGA approved it. As soon as World War II ended and those tournaments got started up again, Zaharias won them, winning the Women's Amateur Championship once, in '46 and the British Ladies' Championship once, in '47.

By this time, women's pro golf was finally starting to come together.' 'There have been a number of major championships in women's golf throughout the years. The earliest is the Women's Western Open, which began play in 1930. The second was the Titleholder's Championship in 1937, the third the U.S. Women's Open in 1946. All three of these were retroactively named majors by the LPGA. The Ladies Professional Golfer's Association was formed in 1950 by a group of 13 golfers, one of whom was Babe Zaharias. Of the three majors formed during her career, Zaharias won all three, winning the Western Open four times, the Titleholders three times and the U.S. Open three times.' 'Sadly, she was stricken with cancer and died in 1956 at 42. ' 'Arnie's Army Storms Golf:' 'The 1950s were another period without a clear dominating figure in men's golf.

In the decade, no player (other than Sam Snead) captured the events winner title (awarded to the player who won the most events in the season) and no one won the money leader title more than once. Players like Hogan and Snead were nearing the end of their careers, no longer ruling the scene. Nelson had retired in the '40s. Golf's popularity was still on the rise; it was now entering television for the first time, as major tournaments appeared on TV on Saturdays and Sundays. The sport, however, needed a national figure, and at the end of the decade, one finally appeared.' 'Arnold Palmer, born in Pennsylvania in 1929, turned pro in 1954 after winning the U.S. Amateur Championship, and within three years captured the events winner title. A year later, in 1958, he won the money title. He would win three money titles in his career, as well as a U.S. Open title, a British Open title and four Masters titles, at the time the most in history.

Palmer became the game's first superstar, attracting a horde of followers at each tournament nicknamed "Arnie's Army." He totaled 62 PGA Tour wins in his career, ranking 5th all-time.' 'The Golden Bear and the Black Knight:' 'Palmer's fame was helped along by the presence of two significant rivals, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. Player was a South African who turned professional in 1953. He joined the PGA Tour in '57. Within two years, he already began to win. His first major championship victory came in 1959 at the Open Championship, the first of three British Open titles he would win. He won the PGA Championship twice and the Masters three times. He finally completed the career Grand Slam in 1965 when he won the U.S. Open (his only victory there). He is one of only eight golfers to have won the Masters three times or more. His last major victory came in 1978, at the Masters, when he stormed back from a 7-hole deficit after three rounds to win by a stroke. He was nicknamed "the Black Knight" because he famously wore all black while playing.

Player, though considered a rival of Palmer, was considered more a rival of his contemporary, Jack Nicklaus.' 'Nicklaus, nicknamed "the Golden Bear" because of his build and hair color, would retire from professional golf considered by many to be the greatest golfer of all time. During his career, he would eclipse all golfers that came before him by winning a total of 18 majors, a record that still stands today. His 73 PGA Tour wins rank him second on the all-time list. He turned pro in 1961, winning his first major (the U.S. Open) within a year. He won each major at least three times, becoming history's first three-time career Grand Slam holder. He won the U.S. Open four times, the British Open three times and the PGA Championship five times. His greatest success, however, came at the Masters. The six-time winner of the tournament (by far a tournament record) last won a major title at Augusta in 1986. The win came as a shock to the golf world, as Nicklaus had last won a major six years previous.

However, the Golden Bear had enough magic left to capture the Green Jacket, an honorarium bestowed on each winner of the Masters, one last time.' 'Changing and Adding:' 'In 1968, the PGA Tour, which had, since its inception in 1916 been governed by the PGA of America, broke off, becoming its own organization. Initially, tournament players had formed their own group, the Association of Professional Golfers. They quickly abandoned this, forming the PGA Tournament Players Division, later simply named the PGA Tour. All the records of the PGA Tour prior to the split were carried over. In '72, Europe finally had its own official tour, the PGA European Tour, which comprised 15 different countries.

Its all time leader in wins is Spaniard Seve Ballesteros (who also had success on the PGA Tour).' 'In 1974, a local board of directors in Pinehurst, North Carolina established the World Golf Hall of Fame, inaugurating their first class that year, comprised of Patty Berg, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Francis Ouimet, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Harry Vardon and Babe Zaharias. While the Hall of Fame was initially a local venture, it eventually came under the purview of the PGA, moving to St. Augustine, Florida in 1998 and continuing as world golf's official Hall of Fame.' 'That same year, 1974, a new tournament was established, one that would go on to be considered alongside the four majors. The Tournament Players Championship, later renamed simply The Players Championship, is played in Florida every year, dubbed by many "the Fifth Major" though it has never officially received that distinction.

The Players Championship awards the highest prize money of any golf tournament; its first winner, Jack Nicklaus, received $50,000 out of a total purse of $250,000 ($217,000 and $1.09 million today). Nicklaus also holds the distinction of winning the tourney three times, the most in history.' 'The World's Number One:' 'With the official addition of the European Tour, and its subsequent legitimization among the world's top golfers, more and more golfers began splitting their time between the European and PGA Tours. Many golfers (non-Americans) would primarily play on the European Tour, then play in the major tournaments in the U.S. This led to a problem for the Royal and Ancient Club: their system of invitation to the British Open was now leaving out many top golfers because they split time between the tours. This led to the development of the World Golf Rankings. This system, endorsed by the four majors and the six top international golf tours, ranks the world's golfers on a points system, derived from their finishes in tournaments.

The rankings were first released prior to the 1986 Masters Tournament - the top six were Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Tom Watson, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman. Interestingly, the top three were all European players - none of them ever finished as the money or wins leader on the PGA Tour. However, that first year, Greg Norman ended the year ranked number one, which he would do six more times in his career, a record when he retired. Only one other golfer would tally more year-end number ones than Norman�but we'll get to him later.' 'Between 1986 and 1997, Norman's last year at number one, there were only five players who finished the year at number one: Norman, Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Nick Price and Nick Faldo. Of those five, only Faldo achieved that feat more than once. Norman dominated the world rankings, yet only won the money title on the PGA Tour three times in his career and only ever won titles in one major championship, winning the British Open twice.

Other golfers of the era were big winners in the majors: Tom Watson won five British Opens, a U.S. Open, and two Masters, failing to capture the career Grand Slam by never winning the PGA Championship. Faldo won two Masters and three British Opens while Ballesteros accomplished the same feat, and Curtis Strange became the first player since Ben Hogan in the 1950's to win back-to-back U.S. Opens, winning in '88 and '89 (and no player has done so since). But on the horizon as the calendar turned to the late '90s was a player that would capture golf's attention and awards like almost no one else before.' 'Tiger:' 'Eldrick Woods was born in 1975 in California, and his father Earl had him playing golf from an incredibly early age - even appearing on a TV talk show to showcase his talents at the age of two. After attending Stanford University for two years and winning the U.S. Amateur Championship three times (including as the youngest ever, a record which stood until 2008), he turned pro in 1996.

The man nicknamed "Tiger" immediately became a sensation, winning the 1997 Masters with a still-record low of -18. The son of an African-American man and a Thai woman, he also became the first non-white player ever to win at Augusta. He wouldn't stop there - Woods, at present, has captured a total of 14 major victories, second all-time to Nicklaus. With four Masters titles, three U.S. Open titles, three British Open titles and four PGA Championship titles, he is also the only person besides Nicklaus to have completed three career Grand Slams. In 2000-01, he also became the only person in history to hold all four majors titles simultaneously, winning the 2000 U.S. and British Opens and PGA Championship, followed by the 2001 Masters title. However, since he did not win them in the same year, it did not count as a single season Grand Slam. Still, he managed to best Bobby Jones in 2008 when he won his 14th major, eclipsing Jones' 13.

He also has 71 PGA Tour wins, 3rd all time, only two behind Nicklaus and 11 behind Snead. At only 34, many believe he will someday beat Snead's record. Tiger also holds the record for most number one year-end rankings (with 11 as of 2009) and the record for most weeks at number one (with 615 straight weeks - 284 more than Greg Norman, who is second). Woods has also won more money than any other golfer in history, with his prize money as of 2010 totaling over $93 million.' 'Golf Today:' 'Tiger still dominates the fans' attention in golf, though due to injury and personal problems he has failed to win a major since 2008. TV ratings when Tiger is playing for a championship as opposed to when Tiger isn't are considerably higher.

Still, the sport of golf in general is strong, attracting strong TV revenues and awarding higher and higher purses every year - for example, the Players Championship, the highest purse in golf, awarded the equivalent of $217,000 to the winner out of $1.09 million in its first year. The 2010 Players Championship gave its winner $1.71 million out of a $9.5 million purse. Golf is going strong. What remains to be seen is what will happen when Tiger finally retires, and whether a new figure can arise to capture the world's attention in the sport.' Who Invented The Game Of Golf? Who Invented The Game Of Golf? By David Humphrey | Submitted On January 30, 2005 1 Well, who actually did invent the game of Golf? The question has been asked and argued for many years with no true winner. Many countries have a valid claim to an early game that resembles the game of golf. Some of the countries that make this claim are England. Scotland, China, Rome, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Laos. The most heated debate over who invented golf definitely comes from Great Britain and Scotland.

The first area to look when deciding the answer to our question must be what actually determines when a game with sticks and balls is golf or another game. Most countries in the world have had games where you hit an object with a stick at some sort of target. Is this enough to be called golf, I don't think so. If so, then these early games could claim the origin of many sports played today. I think it takes more than just a game with some kind of object being hit by a stick to qualify as the origin of golf. Holland is believed to be the origin of the name of golf but not the actual game itself. Holland played a game in the 1200s called Colf, which means clubs. This was a form of golf but once again the form of many other sports. Colf has been traced back to Dec. 26, 1297, in the town of Loenen aan de Vecht in northern Holland. On that day, the local townsfolk played four holes of the game to commemorate the relieving of the Kronenburg Castle exactly one year before. The fact that colf was chosen to mark the occasion is proof that the game was already popular by that time.

Great Britain The earliest traces of golf history has golf being played are said to date back to 1340, where in a sketch from a stained glass window, the Great East Window, in the east wing of the Gloucester Cathedral, England, scenes of the Battle of Crecy in France showed a man apparently preparing to strike a ball in a golf-like manner. One of the early forms of golf were all missing one important ingredient to their games to truly make the game golf and that was the hole. Scotland is widely believed to be the first country to put all the ingredients together and actually start a primitive form of the great game of golf. Yes, this will always be a disputed point, who actually invented the game of golf. If you believe some of the claims that the game they were playing was golf and they didn't have a hole, then you could take this same game and turn it into the origin of many games we still play today. I believe the hole is what separates all the early claims to who originated the game of golf. Look at our Golf History section at the World of Golf Handicap for more detailed information on the History of Golf. History of Golf - Scottish Perspective Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Watson, Faldo and Woods.

PRE 1400: THE ORIGINS OF THE GAME Throughout recorded history, every civilisation has played a game with a club and a ball. Pangea for example, as described by Roman scribes, would appear to be the father both of modern hockey and the Celtic games of Shinty and Hurling. In one form or another, the variant games of present day golf were clearly enjoyed throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The game persisted over the centuries and the form that it took and rules that were applied varied as widely as the terrain the game was played over. In short, the game consisted of knocking a ball from one pre-designated place to another where the ball was to be struck off a predetermined object in the least number of blows. Games often extended from village to village. That this game was ousted from the towns and onto the commons land beyond is one possible solution to the question of how it all began. Whatever the exact origins, it is known that by the 15th century, "kolf" as it was known in the Netherlands and "goff" as it was referred to in England, was a pastime enjoyed by Kings and Commoners alike.

It's kinship to the Great Game however, remains entirely questionable. So widespread was the game of "Gowf", as it was known in Scotland, that an Act of Parliament was passed to prevent the playing of the game on Sundays and thus preserve the skills of Archery. The citizens of Aberdeen, St. Andrews and Leith on Scotland's East Coast were the principal "gowfing" miscreants and it was no coincidence that rolling sandy links land was commonplace here. On this very terrain, a game that started with a cleek and a ball took on a form that started an evolutionary process that continues to this day. The question of how it all began may be of pressing concern to some but to the Scot, it is sufficient to know that the game was born on the links land of eastern Scotland. Here, the game has been nurtured for over five hundred years and from here, it has been raised to the great game played and loved by millions throughout the world. 1750 - 1850 : THE ROBERTSONS OF ST ANDREWS This was the period when golf as we know it today came to be.

It was in this time that many of today's great golf clubs were founded and the leading players of the era started to gain renown. The great club-makers and ball-makers of the era began to emerge and the clubs produced by these skilled craftsmen were coveted to the extent that forgeries became commonplace. Top players began to regularly gather for 'meetings' when medal and match-play rounds were organised, with distinctions made for the first time between amateur and professional players. Allan Robertson, of the famous ball-making family in St Andrews, is widely credited as being the first golf professional. But before Allan, his Grandfather Peter was described as a professional golfer and although history knows little of this man, his reputation survived him and his prowess was widely acknowledged. One epic contest in 1843 was between Allan Robertson and Willie Dunn, two of the best players of that time. The challenge was held over 20 rounds (2 rounds per day over 10 days) and it was Robertson who triumphed - two rounds up with one to play. The Robertson dynasty in itself reflects the emergence of the great game. The family can be traced back to one Thomas Buddo, a ball-maker in St Andrews in 1610.

His daughter married a Robertson and from this pair was bred the stock that led to Allan himself and along the line produced generations of ball-makers. At least four separate Robertson families employing over 25 hands were engaged in making balls in St Andrews during the mid 18th Century. Allan by the way, who died in 1859, became the first man to break 80 on what is now the Old Course in 1853. 1850 - 1890 : THE MORRIS AND PARK ERA If golf as we know it had its birth in the dim and distant past of the 17th century and its upbringing under the Robertson family on the links of St Andrews, then its adolescence occurred abruptly between 1848 and 1852. Three highly significant events occurred in St Andrews that were to turn the game from the parochial into the global. The first of these events was the discovery of the "gutta percha" based ball, known as the "gutty" by James Patterson in 1848. More importantly, the durability of this new ball in turn encouraged the development of iron-faced clubs and so continued the process of evolution.

Then in 1852 the railway came to St Andrews and with it the progenitors of the millions who have made the pilgrimage since. Now the links was played by all and sundry throughout the year and not simply restricted to the busy spring and autumn meetings. The R&A erected it's now famous clubhouse in consequence of the railway, scores of ex-pat colonialists retired to the town and families took up residence so that their sons could attend the University, which was gradually assuming a stature comparable with Oxford and Cambridge. If the 'gutty' transformed the game, the railway certainly transformed the town of St Andrews. The third event of this period, which comes in two parts, is surely one of the most important events in the long history of the game. Every individual who has made a living out of hitting a golf ball should hold April 20th 1851 as the nativity for that was the birth date of Young Tom Morris, one of the game's greatest early exponents.

Similarly, every green-keeper, designer or administrator should express some word of gratitude on the 1st of July for it was on that day in 1851 that Old Tom Morris left for Prestwick to create the first purpose built golf course on the links of Monkton parish. It was in 1860 that the first Open Championship was held at Prestwick and was contested by eight leading professionals. The first winner was Willie Park for which he received a red Morocco leather belt with silver clasps as the first prize. The Open continued to be held at Prestwick for 11 years and the Morris's dominated the early events. Old Tom had won the event four times by 1867 and Young Tom subsequently completed a quartet of wins, after which he was allowed to keep the Belt. Young Tom Morris was raised on the links of Prestwick Golf Club and it was there that he honed a game that was as revolutionary as the new iron clubs that he had purpose made by Stewart in St Andrews. Irons that were previously resorted to for a bad lie were now used for driving, lofting, jiggering and putting.

Young Tom Morris also knew his worth and he demanded and obtained a good living from the flair that he brought to the game. In this sense he was the first true modern professional golfer. There may well have been greater players since Young Tom but if there has been, few have left a greater legacy to the game. The Morris's accrued an incredible record, with Old Tom winning the Open in 1861, '62, '64 and '67, while Young Tom won in 1868, '69, '70 and 72. Across the Firth of Forth in Musselburgh another family came close to matching them when Willie Park Sr. and Jr. won the Open six times between them. Willie Sr. won the first Open in 1860 and again in '63, '66, '67 and '75. His brother Mungo Park won in 1874, while Willie Jr. won in '87 and '89. Old Tom and Willie Sr. won all but one Open (1865) prior to the emergence of Young Tom.

Both were much-loved figures and were responsible for the standards of sportsmanship with which the game is synonymous today. 1890 - 1914: THE GREAT TRIUMVIRATE This era will always be remembered for the mark left on the game of golf by John Henry Taylor, Harry Vardon and James Braid. Known as the great triumvirate, they collected sixteen Open Championships between them and have left an indelible impression on the game of golf. Harry Vardon hailed from the Channel Island of Jersey and Henry Taylor from Devon in England. The emergence of Vardon and Taylor before the end of the 19th century attests to the rapid spread and widespread play of the game. Both had already established themselves as Open Champions before they were joined by James Braid. The three between them collected 16 Open titles and 13 second-place finishes and almost completely excluded a host of great Scots players from the records of the game during that particular period of time.

John Henry Taylor won the first of his five Open titles in 1894 at St George's in England, now Royal St George's, while Harry Vardon pipped Taylor in a play off in 1896 to land the first of a record six titles. James Braid won his first of five Open Championships in 1901 to join Vardon and Taylor as the dominant forces of the day. Though also winning the French Open, unlike Vardon and Taylor, Braid never made the transatlantic crossing to enjoy the spoils of the newly emerged golfing scene in the USA. While Vardon won the US Open of 1900 during a tour of America where he played in approximately 80 matches and winning 70 of them, Braid's decision to remain at home was well rewarded as an exhibition match player. Braid also established himself in course design, building Gleneagles and Nairn to name but two of his many jewels. What started as a trickle of Scots golfers to the US, became commonplace by the turn of the century when anyone who could swing a club on a Scots links was able to find a lucrative niche as a professional in the US.

The early US Open Champions were all Scots born players who, as teachers and mentors produced players that would come to further transform the game. One notable such player was Willie Anderson from North Berwick in Scotland, who won the US Open four times including a present day record of three in a row from 1903 to 1905. 1920 - 1939 : BETWEEN THE GREAT WARS The First World War decimated Scottish golf. Every village war memorial attests to the numbers who fell in France and few clubs are without a memorial to some rising star, who played out his last match on the fields of Flanders. Some great players survived but the consequence of terror gutted their game. Those that came through unscathed were few in number, determined never to see the like again and often took the decision to play in America - golf's promised land. There was one notable exception in the mercurial George Duncan. Born near Aberdeen, George served his time as a carpenter before rejecting his trade and the offer of professional football with Aberdeen FC to become the professional at Stonehaven, before moving to the lucrative South and acclaim.

He won the first post-war Open at Deal in 1920 when Sandy Herd at the age of 51 was runner-up. Duncan also played in the Ryder Cups of '27 and '29, captaining the side in 1931. Scottish golfers were sorely tried by the wave of first generation Americans that returned to assault the Championships after the War. These players transformed the game, bringing a flair and lifestyle that induced some disquiet in the home based players. Though life in America did not suit all tastes, with the Dunne's and Willie Park Jr. among those who went and returned, there were many more who did not make the return journey. Alistair Mackenzie and Donald Ross from Dornoch were just two who left an indelible mark on America as course architects. The Smiths from Carnoustie, Ben Sayers from North Berwick, Tommy Armour from Edinburgh, the Simpsons from Elie and many others from St Andrews all left lasting impressions in the States and left Scotland bereft of its best and dearest.

Jock Hutchison was the last St Andrews born player to win the Open, while Paul Lawrie was the last native Scot when he won at Carnoustie in 1999. After Jock's win, the Open was dominated by the American, Walter Hagen who won the first of his four Open titles in 1922 at St George's and followed up with victories in '24, '28 and '29. Together with his compatriots Jim Barnes (1925), Gene Sarazen (1932) and the incomparable Bobby Jones who won in 1926 and '27, this was an unprecedented period of Open Championship domination by US players. The year 1922 saw 20 years old Gene Sarazen burst onto the scene in dramatic fashion, landing both the US Open and US PGA Championship, retaining the latter the following year after a play off with Walter Hagen. Hagen bounced right back after this setback and won the next four PGA Championships from 1924 to 1927.

1923 witnessed the mercurial talent of Bobby Jones winning the first of his four US Open titles and Jones followed this with victory in the Open at Royal Lytham in 1926, retaining it at St Andrews in 1927. The Ryder Cup was held for the first time in 1927, when the United States, captained by Walter Hagen, took on and comprehensively defeated their counterparts from Great Britain & Ireland. 1946 - 1960 : THE EMERGENCE OF THE WORLD GAME If the First World War decimated Scottish golf, the second came close to gutting it completely. The First War took the players - the Second War took the golf courses. The Scottish links lands border long sandy beaches, usually in remote places of low population density. As a result, it did not take a brilliant military mind to reason that the links beaches would make for ideal disembarkation sites and the courses equally perfect places for airborne landings. The huge concrete blocks that were erected to stop the movement of tanks from the beaches can still be seen today.

The hallowed fairways of the Old Course were staked with massive wooden poles to prevent aircraft landings and Turnberry made the ultimate sacrifice when it was turned into a runway. Few courses remained unscathed - golf was not only suspended for the duration of the War, it was very nearly extinguished. US golf became pre-eminent and though the Americans may not have been entirely responsible for winning the war, they did win the battle of post-war golf. One could argue that not having experienced the social and economic upheaval of Europe or the long interruption of play, they were infinitely better prepared for the resumption of golfing hostilities. Equally, the sheer numbers that were now playing golf in the US made pre-eminence statistically inevitable. Whatever the reason however, American golfers certainly came to the fore, following the War years. The US domination of the Open Championship itself however, did not occur after the war as it had in the pre-war era of Hagan and Jones. Sceptics argue that the Americans did not play because doing so would have resulted in loss of earnings at home but history tells a different story.

Though Sam Snead won the first post-war Open at St Andrews in 1946 and Ben Hogan was victorious in his only visit to Carnoustie in 1953; every other major figure in US golf had come and gone with notably less success. English players were dominant in the immediate post-war years, with Cotton, Burton, Faulkner and Daly (Irish) all winning. It was the Colonials however, who were to do the real damage as far as the Open was concerned. Bobby Locke from the Transvaal, a first generation South African Irishman and Peter Thomson, an Australian of solid Scots stock were about to take the golfing world by storm. These two overwhelmed golf in a period of a few years when Locke won in 1947 and '51 and Thomson in '54, '55, '56, '58 and again in '65. Indeed, Thomson never finished worse than second from 1952 to 1958. Their achievements, although less impressive in the US, were nevertheless significant. Thomson beat Hogan on his home turf to take the Texas Open, while Locke was the leading money winner on the US tour.

Both these players found their spiritual home on the Scottish links where their best golf was played. Locke was a near resident visitor throughout his life and Thomson now has his home in St Andrews, only a wedge away from the R&A. 1961 - TODAY: THE TRULY GLOBAL GAME OF GOLF The record books do not lie and Scottish Golf, though healthy at home, was faring ill abroad. The game had become truly global with players from Taiwan and Japan threatening for major honours. The Swedes were gathering amateur honours throughout Europe and there seemed no end to the talent emerging from Spain. American Golf had come into maturity with a vengeance in the form of Arnold Palmer. Palmer played the game as it should be played - with verve and a swashbuckling style. Palmer was of course idolised in his own country but he found real appreciation in the discerning crowds that lined the links fairways of the Open Championship. Together with Tip Anderson, his St Andrews caddie, Palmer was lord of every links he surveyed. In Palmers absence in 1964, Tip Anderson carried the bag of Tony Lema through the most testing gales on the Old Course.

It was Lema's win more than any other event that put paid to the excuse that the game had changed and that the new form of golf required only an accurate lofted shot to a soft pulpy green - a shot at which the Americans were clearly adept. The leader board of the '64 Open showed that Jack Nicklaus and plenty more US stars could play the chip-and-run under the wind as well as any that had gone before and as well as any of the home bred players. The reason for the Scottish golfing hiatus during this period may be simply statistical, as the game had grown to the extent that the numbers now playing in every developed country dwarfed the numbers playing in Scotland. There is no doubt that the game itself had changed with the new courses that were being built throughout the world. American architects led by Robert Trent Jones were building courses that were both long and difficult. Greens were soft and holding in contrast to the hard running greens of the links. The grassy fairways presented another type of problem as the ball sat up on the lush grasses and required club contact quite different to that on the tight lies of the links.

Possibly of greater significance was the early adoption in the US of the 'big ball' - the 1.66-inch ball that required a different strike and made for greater control. Great exponents of the game poured out of the US and the US Tour was becoming a multi-million dollar industry with even mediocre golfers, grossing millions of dollars not only through tournament play but also through commercial endorsements. Tip Anderson was still caddying at home in St Andrews when he attained celebrity status in the US without ever setting foot outside the British Isles, backing Palmer in a beer commercial. Television coverage ensured star-status for many players and the American College System, to their credit, acted as a virtual conveyor belt of talent. Following the foundation of the European Tour and the opening of the Ryder Cup to European players, sponsorship grew and European golf blossomed into a money market comparable to that of the US tour. One final ingredient was required however - a star with the charisma of a Palmer and the appeal of a Nicklaus. And so as they say, a star was born.

1979 saw a smiling young genius becoming the first Spaniard to win the Open, with Jack Nicklaus coming second in the race for the Claret Jug for a record seventh time - Seve had arrived on the world scene. The 1980's began with Seve Ballesteros becoming the first European to win the Masters and at 23 years old, the then youngest champion. Nicklaus however, continued his remarkable career with his fifth double-major year, winning his fourth US Open and fifth PGA title. Seve won his second Masters title in 1983 and the following season, he collected his second Open Championship when finishing two strokes ahead of Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson, who was attempting to equal Harry Vardon's record of six Open Championship successes. Lee Trevino won his second US PGA Championship in 1984, made all the more special by the fact that only eight years previously, he was seriously injured having been struck by a lightning bolt. Germany's Bernhard Langer turned the tables on Ballesteros in 1985, beating him in the Masters and gaining revenge for his two-shot defeat in the Open the previous year.

1985 also witnessed the first European success in the Ryder Cup and two years later the US team tasted defeat again but this time on home soil. The Masters of 1986 was perhaps the most thrilling of all. A fantastic late surge from the Golden Bear saw him win his sixth Masters title at the age of 46 - his 21st major victory in an as of yet unparalleled career. The glory days of Scottish golf briefly returned in 1985 when Sandy Lyle triumphed in the Open Championship at Royal St George's and the amiable Scot added a further major title at the Masters in 1988. Though Ballesteros won his third Open with a scintillating final round of 65, domination of the world game by Nick Faldo had already begun when he won his first major title at Muirfield in 1987, shooting par on every hole in his final round. Two years later, Faldo shot an amazing closing 65 to force a Masters play off with Scott Hoch, which he duly won on the second extra hole. Faldo's best year came in 1990 when he became the only player since Nicklaus to defend his Masters title.

Just a few months later, Faldo played the most devastating golf of his life in winning his second Open title at St Andrews and he duly added his third Open two years later, again at Muirfield. Greg Norman's second Open success came at Royal St George's in 1993. His two-stroke victory over Faldo prompted the late, great Gene Sarazen to comment that this was the greatest championship of all time. Major champions have come and gone over the years, with O' Meara, Olazabal, Stewart and Lawrie among those whose names are now etched on the most prized possessions in golf. Not until 1994, did a player with the potential to match the greatness of past legends, come along. Speculation started when Tiger Woods won the US Amateur Championship, continued when he retained it the following year, grew when he became the youngest ever champion at the Masters and climaxed as he stormed to six wins out of six starts in the 1999/2000 season. Though Tiger may have a long way to go to be classed in the same league as Palmer and Nicklaus, there are not many who would bet against it.

Question: In what country was the game of golf invented?
Answer: Scotland